In the world to come, Russia and Brazil might experience a bit of a manufacturing renaissance. Anything that encourages supply chains to be shorter, simpler, and closer to consumers will benefit any manufacturing system that is not in East Asia or Europe. But even this “might” comes with a pair of major caveats. First, recovery would require the Russians and Brazilians to address a host of unrelated issues, ranging from educational systems to infrastructure. Second, any manufacturing renewal would largely be limited to servicing customers within Russia and Brazil, or at most, countries within
...more